Patents
In February 2009 there were 1032 patents on the Fiji Patents Register. The Patents Act dates back to the early 20th century and provides for either independent or UK based applications.
All independent applications are sent to Australia for examination and are likely to take at least four years to be registered. In practice, UK based applications, which have been subjected to the British examination process, proceed more quickly.
Again, priority as such is not available on filing of applications, but a prior application would signal to the Registrar a possible issue in respect of any subsequent rival filing.
Independent patents are valid for fourteen years from the date of issue of letters patent. UK based patents are valid for the remaining term of the UK patent.
There has been an amendment to section 3 of the Patent Act (by Act No. 21/2002) which allows the manufacture of patented pharmaceuticals for authorized research purposes.